1000W Power Supply Unit Roundup. Page 4

Today we are going to introduce to you the first batch of the most powerful PSUs in the today’s market: 1000W models from Cooler Master, OCZ, PC Power & Cooling, SilverStone, Tagan and Topower. Find out which one is the winner from our detailed test session!

The cross-load characteristics of this PSU look good, except that the +12V voltage is set higher than necessary by about 3%. The +5V voltage is stable throughout the entire load range while the +3.3V voltage deflects much from the nominal value only when there is a very high load on both the +3.3V and +12V rails, which is a virtually impossible situation for a modern computer.

The output voltage ripple on the +5V and +12V rails is 30 and 65 millivolts, respectively. This is within the normal range.

The PSU employs a Young Lin Tech Co. DFS132512H fan. Its size of 135x135x25mm is larger than the common 120x120x25mm.

The fan speed management is implemented perfectly: the speed is kept at 830rpm at loads below 500W, which makes the PSU very quiet. The speed is growing up at higher loads, but only to 1500rpm at the max output power. This is indeed good. And the temperature of the exhausted air is only 10°C higher than that of the incoming air.

I also want to note that this diagram coincides with the one you can see at the Cooler Master website. Many manufacturers (even renowned brands as you will see shortly) prefer to specify the fan speed for an ambient temperature of +18°C, which is obviously lower not only than the temperature inside the system case, but even than a normal room temperature (e.g. the temperature in our test lab is air-conditioned to be 22-24°C).

The manufacturer promises a typical efficiency of higher than 85% and compliance with the 80 Plus requirements (an efficiency of higher than 80% at loads from 20% to maximum). When working in a 220V power grid, the PSU efficiency was 87-88% at the top part of the diagram. The efficiency is going to be lower by 2-3% in an 110V power grid due to a bigger loss in the input circuits.

So, the Cooler Master Real Power Pro RS-A00-EMBA is an excellent 1000W power supply that easily yields its full output power and remains quiet under high loads. If the load is less than half the maximum, this PSU is almost silent. Quite a rare case, I have found virtually no drawbacks in this product. If you need a PSU with such a huge wattage, the model from Cooler Master is going to be an excellent choice.

P.S. Besides the standard selection of screws, cords and braces, PSUs usually come with pretty-looking but useless stickers. Cooler Master surprised me, having included a much more useful accessory into the box – a bottle opener.

This device proved to be perfectly compatible with all sorts of beer preferred by the author of this article. :)